“The Legislature’s own research department said that in the current fiscal year, schools are being shorted $173 million from covering the 92% of statewide excess costs as the law calls for. SPED services are mandatory, and the federal government and Kansas legislature need to fund it. Underfunding SPED hurts all students.

Lawrence public schools spent $25.6 million last year on special education; they had to transfer $8.4 million dollars to cover the state shortfall for special education. See more information below.